My Savior
by lordhiddles
Summary: General Iroh II found himself under attack and thrown overboard. When he thought he was going to meet his end, someone saved him. Someone he can call his savior. Iroh/OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters here, except Shui, Huan, and who knows who I'm going to create next.

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"Shui! Shui! Where are you?" shouted a voice far behind me. It was Huan, my longtime friend. My feet dug into the snow beneath me even further as the wind clashed against my body, slowly making me shiver under my thick jacket. I was standing on the edge of the snowy land, only inches away from the cold, deep sea.

"I'm here, Huan," I shouted back as I looked back over my shoulder. The blowing snow blurred out my vision but I can still see the silhouette of Huan. He was struggling to get his way to me as he waved out his hand. The winter breeze caught up to him and he lost his balance, sending him tumbling forward into the freezing snow. I squeaked out a laugh and his chuckled followed, echoing through the mountain slopes and ripping the silence in the air.

"What is this thing you want to show me? I was in the middle of something," he croaked as he wiped the snow off his face. I turned back to the _thing_ he referred to, to make sure it was still there. My gaze went straight to the red and orange beam of light along with dazed dark figures floating on the far south. Thick black smoke started to appear on top of the view, staining the clear blue sky over them.

Huan had finally made it to me. "Okay, what?" he asked between his heavy panting. "I had to escape from my brother to get here. And we both know how hard that is."

I nodded at him and pointed to the quite disturbing landscape in front of us. A sigh escaped his lips and he breathed out, "Whoa."

"Yeah," I nodded again. "That's what I said too."

Huan narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the blowing snow. "What do you think that is?" he asked me.

I shrugged and replied, "Maybe ships."

"If those are ships, then they must be sinking," he mumbled as he stepped closer to me, narrowing the gap between us.

The thought of sinking ships never crossed my mind. But it looked like it. But that didn't explain the dark fume slowly spreading in the air. But the red flaming light made it more looked like those ships had caught fire or burning down. It made more sense. "Or maybe they're burning," I said, not taking my eyes off the ships.

"Yeah," Huan agreed. "What were you doing out here anyway?" he asked as he glanced down at me from the corners of his eyes.

I returned his gaze and answered, "I was on top of the wall, waiting for my father to come back. He went fishing with the others and I just saw that," I nodded to the ships. "I called you out before I sneaked out to get a closer look."

We stood there and watched in awed, trying to make up what was going on over there. But then the boy beside me snapped and he gasped. He turned to me with his wide, gray eyes and exclaimed, "We need to tell someone!" He grabbed my shoulder and continued, "You stay here, okay?"

I nodded determinedly and Huan flashed me a smile before dashing off to the high walls of ice. Not long after I was left alone, an explosion occurred on the supposedly sinking ships. A sanguine ball of light and fire formed and an ear-ripping blast filled the air. The smoke thickened and dust mingled with the snow. I checked over my shoulder to see if Huan had brought anyone back from the wall but I was still alone.

The tides moved more aggressively beneath the land of ice I was standing on and moved back a few steps when I heard the cracking sound of ice breaking. And all that time, I never took my eyes off the ships in flames.

I waited and waited until my eyes caught a figure floating coming my way. It looked like a wreckage remains of one of the ships but as it grew nearer, it looked more like something else. It looked like a person.

I was almost sure that it was a person floating on the icy sea and I was anxiously waiting for Huan's return. After my conclusion that no one was going to come anytime soon, I raised my arms. I held out my firm grip and opened them, relaxing my tense body. The chi in my blood flowed through my veins, filling my whole body with energy. The connection between me and the water strengthen and it created an invincible string of force. I pulled my arm back towards my body and the cold sea rolled towards me as well. I pushed my hands out again and pulled them back in. The rolling sea brought the person closer and I can saw the person clearer. It was a man hanging on to a big metal plate, but he was still drowning.

I repeated my bending over and over until the man was close enough in my reach. His body clashed against the edge and he let out a soft whimper. It took all my strength to drag him up to shore for he was heavy. I gently dropped him and rolled him around.

The man had dark hair and gushes on his face. Blood oozed from a wound on his cheek. He was quite handsome, even with the wounds scarring his face. I held my breath, trying to listen or detect his breathing. But I heard nothing. I started to panic and my shaky hands dropped on to his chest. I started pumping on his chest as I slowly whispered, "Please don't be dead."

I pumped his chest again and again, but he wasn't responding. I bit my lip and kept on pumping with all my strength. I became frustrated as he was still not moving. "Come on, don't die. Please, just don't die," I whispered. It was slowly working and his head was moving slightly and slowly. I didn't stop until he finally coughed and choked on his own breath. His hands tensed and his fingers dug into the snow. He coughed up water and I smiled. He was alive.

I sighed in relieve and sat back down to his side. His eyes shot open in shock and I met his eyes. It was light brown, maybe almost gold. The man clenched his jaw and cried out a sigh. He tried to move but held down his shoulder as gently as possible. "No, don't move. Just relax and breathe."

He looked straight into my eyes and softness entered them. He nodded slightly as he regulated his breathing. "Where… Where am I?" he breathed out.

His hand gripped my wrist and he cautiously looked around, it seemed like he was searching for his ship. He looked terrified. I looked up and saw people from the wall running towards us. Huan has finally brought back help. I smiled and laid my free hand on the man's grip. "You're in the Northern Water Tribe. It's okay, you're safe now."

He returned the smile and released his grip on my hand. I saw that he was much more relaxed once he accepted that I have found him and he was assured safe. But the worry in his eyes never left.


	2. Chapter 2

I walked past the bustling streets, trying as hard as I can to dodge people walking from the other way. I smiled to a few on the way, not only to be polite also because I actually know them. I saw Huan at the end of the frozen street; he stood in front of the healing center while waving his hand with a huge grin on his face. "Shui!" he shouted.

I waved back and a smile crept upon my lips. I haven't seen Huan since yesterday when he brought a couple of people with him to the edge of the island to help the washed up man and take a closer look of what was happening down south.

They identified them as sinking ships and the man even confirmed it by nodding. He was too weak to say anything or even try to walk on his own. He was in a pretty bad shape, I had to admit. The bruises and gashes didn't only cover his face, but his body also. I also saw that his left arm was burned. When I was worried, Huan told me that his mother can heal it. I believed him because his mother is one of the best healers in the Northern Water Tribe.

After we got back to the wall and into the city, they took the man to the healing center where Huan's mom had been waiting. They also sent a few men to check with the ships and when they got there, some of them already sank. But they saved more than almost two dozen men and they all were placed in the center for treating.

I didn't stick around because I had to go home and help my dad. But I couldn't help but be worried for the man. I thought of him and came up with a few assumptions. First, I guessed that he was a firebender because he sure looks like one and he wore all-red clothing, which just made it more obvious. Second, I guessed that he was a captain on one of the sinking ships or at least someone with a high place on it for I remembered that he was wearing a few badges pinned into his sanguine jacket.

When I reached Huan, he instantly put his arm around my shoulder. He ruffled my hair and said, "Where have you been?"

I shrugged and snaked my way off of his half-embrace. "After we got back, I went home to help my dad with cooking. Of course, I did most of it but enjoy it when my dad actually thinks he can cook," I replied followed by a grin.

The boy leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow. He folded his arms as he slowly asked with s careful tone, "Do you really want to see him, S?"

"Yeah. Well, kind of," I shrugged again. I wasn't entirely sure, definitely. But my curiosity cannot be contained anymore because I want to see what he looked like, really this time. Because yesterday was a haze and most of the time I couldn't see him properly because of the raging snow. "Why? Is there something wrong with him?"

Huan stared at me with his gray eyes for a moment and then finally said, "Nothing. It's just he looks hard and mean. Maybe a bit scary, even."

"You've seen him?" I asked and Huan nodded right away, not taking his eyes off of me. It took a while to process the information because the man who laid in front of me yesterday didn't looked like he was mean at all, or even scary. Maybe a bit hard but he seemed like a nice guy. But I laughed when I realized that Huan may be intimidated by him. "Huan, did you just said he was _scary_?" I said between laughs.

He blushed deeply and exclaimed, "I said a bit scary!"

"Are you scared of him?" I teased as I raised an eyebrow. Huan leaned over and ruffled my hair again, this time longer and harder than before. "Just get in there and see him," he groaned. "He might want to thank you for saving his life. He's in the fourth room on the right."

"Yeah, yeah," I nodded. I mumbled a silent goodbye and pushed the white rain stained curtain. I waved my hand to Huan before proceeding down the hall of the big healing center. The smell of medicine, herbs, and holy healing water filled the air. I walked past the first room and then the second. As I past the third one, my paces slowed down. I began to think maybe Huan was right. Maybe the man really is hard, mean, and a bit scary. But the way he was so composed and relaxed yesterday, the thought was almost impossible. Almost, not entirely.

I stopped in front of the fourth room with only another white curtain covering it. I slowly raised my hands to grab the curtains and pull it aside. Sitting inside on the bed was the man I rescued. And oh my… he was… _shirtless_.

My eyes popped open because no one really walks around naked here. I mean, it is the North Pole. Who would want to get frostbite? This guy, apparently. Yes, his body was great, I admitted. I even felt a bit enjoyment of looking at it, something I clearly shouldn't do. I saw a few dim scars and freshly treated wounds along his back and upper arm, it must have been caused by what happened yesterday. Something I should ask him about. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to move my gaze because it seemed like he was the only thing interesting in the pitch white room made of walls of snow.

He wasn't aware of my presence because he was staring down, looking straight into nothing, until I cleared my throat and croaked out a small simple greeting. "Hi."

The man's head snapped towards me and he smiled warmly. "Hello," he simply said in return. He caught my eyes when they darted to his body and to my surprise, he flushed. "Sorry," he mumbled as he dropped his head down to stare at his hands. He then stood up and walked over to where his shirt laid, on the table. With one swift move, he put them on quickly without making a fuss. As he buttoned up his shirt, he turned around to face me. He smiled crookedly and said, "I see that my angel is here."

His words took me by surprise; I didn't expect his sentence at all. Simply, I expected a _'How are you?'_ or a _'Nice to see you.'_ But no, he went on and called me and angel. It was me that he referred to, right? I furrowed my eyebrows and my mouth dropped open slightly, taken aback for a while with his remark. "What?" I asked with much confusion.

He finished buttoning his shirt and ran his hands over it to straighten it out. He looked at me with more confusion in his eyes.

"I'm―I'm your… _angel_?" I asked again as I stepped forward to the edge of his bed. Why would he call me his _angel_? Was that a greeting nickname I wasn't aware of? Or was that just a friendly greeting to women from where he came from? I hope so because anything beyond that would turn my cheeks into a deep shade of red. I would look like a bloated red potato with human features.

He nodded and flashed me another smile. The man turned doubtful in just a second and he said, "Yeah. I'm sorry, does that―"

"No, no," I cut him off mid-sentence. "Don't apologize, no need for that. It's just that I'm confused," I pursed my lips.

He chuckled lightly, something that I very enjoyed hearing. "Confused? Why would you be? You saved my life yesterday. That's what angels do. At least good angels does," he shrugged. "And that was meant as a compliment, you know."

A small giggle escaped my lips and our eyes met. His eyes looked golden, brighter than yesterday. He sat down on the bed and he patted the spot next to him, gesturing for me to sit. And so I did.

For a reason, we just stared at each other for a while. I didn't know why, maybe because we had run out of things to talk about. But even if I do find one, I couldn't bring myself to speak up. Finally, after our eyes locked he clenched his strong jaw and sighed. "Thank you," he said. It sound like a whisper but it sounded really sincere. He looked down at his hands again to continue. "I probably can't thank you enough. What you did… I was very grateful of it. You saved my life."

I smiled and nodded before slowly opening my lips to say, "It was no trouble, really. I'm glad I did too."

He looked up at me and grinned. The man stared gazed at me again with those sparkly golden eyes. "I really can't thank you enough. But you saved my life," he stopped for a while. "But I don't even know your name. I'm Iroh," he said as he raised his hand for me to take,

"Shui," I said while I took his hand. His hand was warm, hard, and rough, just what a man's hand supposed to be. But what do I know about that? But as seconds passed and our hands still entwined, his hand heated up and became warmer. I enjoyed it without a doubt because I don't get to feel that kind of heat very often. He shook it gently and mumbled kindly, "Shui." His voice was gentle and soft, but the depth of it astounded me. Before I could react any further under his gaze, his lips parted again to speak up once more. "My savior."


End file.
